Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Dempsey and everyone for their input. Before I go to the questions I have, I just want to say that in CHO 9, we have many problems very similar to what has been said about school places and people getting diagnosed. We have young kids on the waiting list for long periods. That is an ongoing thing. A lot of work has been done but there is a serious problem there. It appears there are not enough people there. The recruitment has not worked. That needs to be addressed. We need to get more people with the expertise to deal with this.

I wish to ask a few questions. Regarding people with disabilities and the Government’s national oral health policy, there are people with complex dental care needs. What plans are in place to improve delays in receiving dental treatment for persons with disabilities?

People with disabilities live between 15 and 25 years less than the rest of the population. Do we see, with all the plans in place, that we can reduce that? I am curious because it has bugged me that people with disabilities or people with autism tend to die much younger. Can we extend their lifespans?

There is no system for health checks for persons with learning disabilities. That is what has been said. Is there a plan to do something to directly address that? What extra steps are being taken to facilitate vaccine roll-out and screening services for persons with disabilities and to ensure that under-represented groups are reached? There are people outside of the system not getting addressed in some way.

There is also a growing demand for primary care therapy services for people with disabilities. There is a plan to address waiting lists, setting up a protocol. We heard about these waiting lists. How will this protocol work? What steps will be taken to try to address this?